Having achieved 100% capacity utilisation of 5 lakh items of baggage suitcases per 30 days, Samsonite South Asia Pvt. Ltd., (Samsonite India), the subsidiary of American baggage main Samsonite Inc., has embarked on a ₹160-crore expansion plan to take the month-to-month manufacturing capacity to 7.5 lakh items by finish of 2024.
To be 100% funded from inside accruals, the expansion will fully occupy all the vacant land accessible on the firm’s manufacturing facility in Nashik, Maharashtra, forcing it to search for an extra website to realize its plans to have a 1 million unit per 30 days manufacturing capacity in India by January 2026.
“Our decision to expand and invest in the Nashik plant is a landmark decision as far as India’s growth story is concerned. In 2020, we were at a crossroads due to COVID. Today, business has bounced back so much that demand has outstripped supply and we are running short despite expanding capacity during the COVID time,” stated Jai Krishnan, CEO, Samsonite India.
Before COVID, the corporate had a manufacturing capacity of two.2 lakh items per 30 days and the capacity was enhanced to five lakh items a month with an funding of ₹150 crore. Now one other ₹160 crore is being invested to create extra capacity as per market demand.
The firm, which manufactures and sells its merchandise in three main manufacturers particularly Samsonite, American Tourister and Kamiliant, caters to varied segments of consumers and its success out there could be attributed to its model and channel structure.
While Samsonite caters to the highest most finish of the market, American Tourister has helped in premiumisation. And Kamiliant, caters to the worth section and allows the corporate to successfully compete with Indian manufacturers particularly VIP, Aristocrat and Safari to call a number of.
“We have managed our brand architecture and market channel architecture well,” stated Mr. Krishnan.
For additional expansion into smaller cities, the corporate has chalked out technique to enter 1,500 such places out of three,500 present within the nation. “There is huge opportunity to grow in these markets as people have aspirations and these days everyone is traveling. We want to go there,” the CEO stated including that the corporate’s American Tourister retailer in Darbhanga, Bihar, was doing nicely.
It can also be increasing the community of retail shops from 200 pre-COVID to 600 by the tip of 2023. These are unique Samsonite and American Tourister shops operated by the corporate and its franchisees.
